Multiple-color tube-printing machine.



G- H. NEIDLINGERF MULTIPLE COLOR TUBE PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 30, 1909. RENEWED nEu. 16, 1910.

LQ33Q8QQ. I Patented July 30, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W/TNESSES: nwav'r oe 660 1 17. (/lzd/myw' By I ATTORNEYS MULTIPLE COLORTUBE PRINTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED D110. 30, 1909. RENEWED DEC.16, 1910.

LQSfifiQN. Patented July 30, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEYS G. H. NEIDLINGER.

MULTIPLE COLOR TUBE PRINTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 30, 1909.RENEWED DEC. 16, 1910.

L83,824 Patented July so, 1912.

3 SHEETSSHEET s.

W/T/VESSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEYS I ries' a plurality of printing plates,so space To alfwhom it may concern:

enonen H. 'NEIDLINGER, or EAST omnenyamwonnsnr, 'ASSIGNGR' 'rojrEEnLEss' TUBE CQ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ,A CORPORATION: OF: NEW YORK.

MULTIPLE-COLOR TUBE-PRINTING MACHINE,

Application filed December 30, 1909, Serial No. 535,541.

Be'it known that I,.GrEORGE H. NEIDLIN- can, a: citizen of-the UnitedStates, and a resident of East Orange, in the county of Essex and Stateof New Jersey, have inventeda new and Improved Multiple-ColorTube-Printing Machine, of which the following is a 'full, clear, andexact description.

This'invention relates to certain improvementsin machines for printingupon the outer surface ofcans, ars, tubes or other substantiallycylindrical bodies, and the main object of the invention isto print thearticles in a plurality ofcolors properly registering and applied duringa single operation of the machine.

In my improved machine, the articles-to be printed upon are caused torotate about their own axes, and closely adjacent the surface of aprinting cylinder, the rate and direction of surface travel of theprinting cylinder and the'article to be printed upon, being the same.The printing cylinder carin relation to the relative diameters of theprinting cylinder and the article printed upon, that the printingproduced by one printing plate and in one color, will bear a definiteand predetermined" relationship to ip .brake will holdthe fast pulleyand the entire machine against rotation, while the belt- ;runs the.loose pulley. By swinging the le-- ver 27 to the left, the brake ismoved out of engagement with the pulley 23., and the belt is brought on.to the the-machinethe printing produced in a-diiferent color by the nextprinting plate. In connection with the printing cylinder, automaticinking apparatus is employed, by means of which the roper colored ink isapplied to each'printmg plate on the cylinder independent of the otherprinting plates.

The invention consists in the combination and relative arrangement ofparts herein: after defined-in the claims, andone embodiment of which isdescribed in detail in this specification.

. Reference 1s to be had to the accompanyof themachine being brokenaway; and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view-showing-the relatiye arrangement ofcertain parts-for printing-1n four colors. i

Specification of Letters Patent.

in- Fig. 2.

Renewed December 1c, 1910. S.eri,a1 No, 597,722.:

In the specific machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2,1 employ a mainframe. or table 10, havingsuitable supporting legsll; and havingupwardly-extending substan- =tially parallel side walls 12 and12' which.serve to journal the various parallel-rollers and shafts embodied inthe machine, ranged substantially centrally of the platform or table10,- is a transverse shaft -13, journaled in the two walls 12 and '12and. 5 I supportingalarge drum orprinting cylin- Fder-I L. At one end ofthis cylinder is a 5 gear 15, intermeshing with a gear 16 mounted on astub shaft or on the side wall 12*.

This gear -16.serves to transmit motion to the printing cylinder fromthe pinion 17 on a main drive shaft 18. The main drive shaft extendsthroughthe wall 12?, andhas upon its outer end a bevel gear 19,intermeshing with a bevel pinion 20 on a coun tershaft 21, Thiscountershaft has fast- PatentedJuly 30,1912.

and loose pulleys 22 and 23 with which the belt from any suitable powershaft orprime mover may engage. :Qn the rear sideof d ;the wall 12?, isa sliding-bar 24:, having a brake-25 andbelt-engaglng arms 26 at oneend, and at-the other end an upwardly-ex.- tending-lever 27 by means ofwhioh-thebar 24: may be -move.d longitudinally. W iththe arts in theposition indicated in Fig.' 1,,the

pulley 22 to run Directly above the shaft 13 and in the" rear of thewall 12*, is an-upwardly-extend j ing-stationary arm 28, shown in dottedlines The arm has an upper movable section '29 bolted thereto andhaving-at-its upper end a sleeve 30 through whlch ex; Qtends a spindle31. The spindle l-ies paral- ,lel to the shaft 13, and directly abovethe same, and maybe adjusted vertically in re- .spect to said shaft byvarying the position v ofthe detachable section 29 with respect tothe-stationary portion of the arm 28; The, arm 28 'is preferablyintegral with an out wardly-extending journal box of the shaft 13,and'on' the rear end of the shaft 1s a removable gear wheel 320f..substantially the same diameter as the printing drum.

- The spindle 31' extends-through the sleeve 30 and upon its rear end itis provided with a removable pinion 33 meshing with the gear wheel 32.The gears 32 and 33 cause the printing cylinder and spindle 31 to rotatesimultaneously and at predetermined relative speeds. The spindle 31 isadapted to receive the hollow tube, can, jar or other article which itis desired to print, andthe gears 32 and 33 are of such-relativeproportions that the rate of-surface travel of the article on thespindle, will be the same a as the rate of surface travel of the printinplates on the printing cylinder. The printing cylinder carries aplurality of these printing plates, there being four such plates 34employed in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. If the printing is tocompletely encircle the tube or other article to beprinted, eachprinting plate is of a width substantially equal to the circumference ofsaid tube or other article, and the printing plates are spaced apart asufficient distance to permit the spindle to make one or more completerevolutions from the time the rear edge of one printing plate passesthe. spindle, until the front edge of the next printing plate arrives inoperative position.

The form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is adapted for printing two separatecolors on the tube, and thus each alternate printing plate will be madesomewhat different than the remaining printing plates. For instance, oneprinting plate may bear an ornamental design and the border for a panel,which are to be printedin one color, and the next printing platewillbear type for printing the rea ing matterinzan ink of a. differentcolor. frontend, so that a: tube may bereadily slipped thereon and mayfit friction tight, so as to rotate-with the spindle. The tube is placedin position either while the spindle is stationary orafte'r the time oneprinting plate leaves the spindle andbefore the next one reaches saidspindle. .As one printing plate passes the spindle,'the tube on thespindle is rotated in contact with the printing plate, to transfer theimpression to. the outer sur ace of the tube," and the tube re mains inposition until after the next printing plate comes into operativeengagementwith the tube and passes the same. The tube is then removedand replaced by another before the third printing plate arrives in0perative position. Thus,.two tubes will be printed, each in two colorsduring each r0- tat-ion of the .printing cylinder; In case printing .orornamentation in three different colors'is to be applied to the tube,one of the four plates shown in Fig. 2 would be removed and the tubewould be left on the spindle duringa complete revolution. The number ofprinting plates, their character and their distance apart, will dependupon the character of printing which it. is desired The spindle is vunsupported at its Each inking mechanism includes an ink or color trough35, having a roller 36'rotatable therein. A larger roller 37 is mountedin the two side plates 12 and 12 and is positively rotated'froni thepinion 17 on the main shaft 18. The roller 37 upon one end, carries acam section 38, which intermittently engages with a pivoted lever 39,which latter carries a roller 40. With the cam in engagement with thelever, the roller 40 is held in engagement with the roller 36, toreceive ink or color from the latter, and as the cam passes out ofengagement with the lever, a spring 41 swings the lever to such aposition that the roller 40 engages with the large roller 37 anddeliversthe ink or color to the latter. p v

Directly above the roller 37 are three rollers 42, 43 and 44, inengagement with each other andwith said roller 37, and which servemerely as distributing rollers to bring the ink or color into an evenand uniform coat. The large roller 37 is spaced a short distance fromthe printing cylinder, and between the roller 37 and the printingcylinder are one or more rollers 45. These rollers are carried by arms46 pivoted to the two plates 12 and 12 and are capable of swingingupwardly into engagement with the roller 37, as shown at the left-handside of Fig. 2, or of swinging upwardly past the position shown at theright-hand side of Fig. 2, into engagement with the roller 37. Theserollers 45 act to transfer the color, and are so controlled that theyswing into operative engagement with the printing cylinder only when theparticular or predetermined printing plate" of the latter is passing thepoint of tangency with the transferring roller. This controllingmechanism may include a cam 47 on the shaft of the roller 37 andadaptedto engage with a small roller 48 on an arm 49 connected to one ofthe arms'46. The shape of this cam determines the position of thetransferring rollers '45, and each cam is so disposed that thetransferring .rollers will intermittently swing across the interveningspace between the roller 37 and the printing cylinder, and deliver inkor color to the desired printing plate. The shaft of the roller 37mayserve, not only to rotate the cam which swings the transferringrollers, but also be used for in- 36 in the color troughs. As shown atthe left-hand side of Fig. 2, the roller 36 is pro- I while theoscillation of the arm 51 causesits intermittent rotation in theopposite. direction.

As I have previously-stated, I do not wish to be limited in any way tothe use of only two different kinds of color plates, and the use of twosets of inking mechanisms, as any number may be employed by slightlyadjusting the relative positions of the parts. In Fig. 3, I have shownsomewhat diagrammatically, a printing cylinder with eightprinting platesthereon and four separate sets of inking mechanisms, each with its twotransferring rollers for intermittently engaging with the roller 87 or.with the desired printing plate. Any other number than four could ofcourse be employed.

The specific machine illustrated is designed for printing upon the outersurface of collapsible tubes before the latter are filled. The spindleis made of such size as to fit friction tight within the tube, and thuspositively rotates the latter at the desired speed. It is, of course,evident that the spindle could be made of larger size and the deviceused for printing upon cans, jars, or any other similar containers. Byinclining the axes of the spindle and printing cylinder, the machine maybe used for printing upon conical instead of cylindrical walls. v

Hereinafter in the claims I wish the term tube to be considered ascovering any form of container, upon the cylindrical or approximatelycylindrical walls of which it is desired to print.

. Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent:

1. A multiple color tube printing machine having a printing cylinder,

a shaft for supporting the same, an arm formed of two adjustablyconnected sect-ions,fone ,of said sections carrying aisleeve, a spindlemounted within said sleeve and disposed adjacent to and substantiallyparallel with the periphery of said printing cylinder, and

means for rotating said spindle and said printing cylinder atsubstantially the same rate of surface travel.

2. A multiple color tube printing machine,- having-a printing cylinderprovided. with a gear wheel and a plurality of printing plates, separateinking mechanisms for said separate plates and gear wheel, an armextending upwardly adjacent one end of said printing cyllnder and formedof a stationary section and a the periphery operated from saidsectionadjustably secured thereto and provided with a sleeve, a spindle mountedin said sleeve anddisposed adjacent to and parallel with the peripheryof said cylinder andmovable toward or from the same upon the adjustmentof said last-mentioned section, and removable intermeshing gears car'-ried by the shaft of said cylinder and by said spindle.

3. A multicolor tube printing machine having a printingcyli'nder, aplurality of printing plates carried thereby, a plurality of separateinking mechanisms, the number of printing plates being a multiple of thenumber of inking mechanisms, means controlled by the rotation of thecylinder for bringing each inking mechanism into operation a pluralityof times during each rotation of said cylinder, a spindle adjacent ofthe cylinder and supported at one end only and adapted to receive uponthe opposite end thereof the tube to be printed, and means for rotatingsaid spindle and said printing cylinder to print the desired number ofcolors upon the tube during. a fraction of a rotation of said printingcylinder. I

4:. A multicolor tube printing machine having a printing cylinder, aplurality of printing plates carried thereby and project ing outwardlytherefrom to leave recesses between adjacent plates, a plurality ofinking mechanisms for said inking plates, and a spindle extendingsubstantially parallel with the periphery of the cylinder and adapted tocarry a tube in printing relationship to said plates, said tube beingremovable from said spindle when a recess of the printing cylinder isopposite said spindle.

5. A multicolor tube printing inachine having a printing cylinder, aplurality of printing plates carried thereby and extend- ,ing outwardlytherefrom' and spaced apart to leave recesses therebetween, a pluralityof inking mechanisms, the number of ink ing mechanisms corresponding toone-half the number of printing plates and each. plate on said cylinderbeing a duplicate of the plate diametrically opposite thereto, means forbringing each printing mechanism into operation twice during eachrevolution ofthe cylinder, a spindle supported at one end and extendingsubstantially par allel to the periphery of the cylinder and adapted toreceive a tube to be printed, said tube being removable from saidspindle :when said spindle is opposite a recess between adjacentprinting plates, and means for rotating said spindle and said printingmechanisms at the same rate of surface travel.

6. A multicolor tube printing machine having a print-ing cylinder, aplurality of printing plates carried thereby, each printing plate beinga duplicate of the printing contact with said printing plates, a halfplate diametrically o posite thereto, an inkrevolution of said printingcylinder serving ing roller, means or rotating the same to complete theprinting operation upon twice during each rotation of the printingsaidtube. 15

' cylinder, an ink transmitting roller, a cam In testimony whereof Ihave signed my connected to said inking roller for swinging name to thisspecification in the presence of said transferring roller into and outof entwo subscribing witnesses.

gagement with a printing plate during each GEORGE H. NEIDLINGER.revolution of the inking roller, and means Witnesses: adapted to supporta-tube to be printed and CLAIR W. FAInBA'NK,

permit the rotation of the latter in rolling PHiLIP D. ROLIJHAUS.

